The Twelfth Imam »

Joel C. Rosenberg is the New York Times best-selling author of The Last Jihad, The Last Days, The Ezekiel Option, The Copper Scroll, and Epicenter, with 1.5 million copies in print. A communications strategist based in Washington, D.C., he has worked with some of the world’s most influential and provocative leaders, including Steve Forbes, Rush Limbaugh, former Israeli deputy prime minister Natan Sharansky, and former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Once a political columnist for World magazine, he now writes commentaries for National Review as well as a weekly e-mail update known as “Flash Traffic” for business and political leaders. A front-page Sunday New York Times profile called him a “force in the capital.” He has also been profiled by the Washington Times and the Jerusalem Post and has been interviewed on ABC’s Nightline, CNN Headline News, FOX News Channel, The History Channel, MSNBC, The Rush Limbaugh Show, and The Sean Hannity Show.

As the apocalyptic leaders of Iran call for the annihilation of Israel and the U.S., CIA operative David Shirazi is sent into Tehran with one objective: use all means necessary to disrupt Iran's nuclear weapons program, without leaving American fingerprints, and without triggering a regional war. At extreme personal risk, Shirazi executes his plan.

A native Farsi speaker whose family escaped from Iran in 1979, he couldn't be better prepared for the mission. But none of his training has prepared Shirazi for what will happen next. An obscure religious cleric is suddenly hailed throughout the region as the Islamic messiah known as the Mahdi or the Twelfth Imam. News of his miracles, healings, signs, and wonders spread like wildfire, as do rumors of a new and horrific war.

With the prophecy of the Twelfth Imam seemingly fulfilled, Iran's military prepares to strike Israel and bring about the End of Days. Shirazi must take action to save his country and the world, but the clock is ticking. And then, a dark secret from his past comes to light and changes the course of his life forever.

Publishers Weekly

Bestseller Rosenberg (The Last Jihad) has carved out a deep niche in conservative political fiction, vividly sweeping from 1979 Iran during the hostage crisis to a world-threatening crisis in the present day. When a prophecy of the coming Mahdi, or 12th imam, is believed to have been fulfilled through a Muslim prophet, a nuclear attack is threatened by Iran against Israel to bring the end of days. Iranian-American CIA operative David Shirazi must infiltrate the Iranian government without leaving American fingerprints and stop the ultimate disaster that would certainly escalate into international conflict. Filled with Islamic culture and history, this story of an Iranian family and an American one trying to understand one another is coupled with an emerging love story that will no doubt play out in coming books, since the ending is left open for more. Readers must keep track of many characters, but the author has provided a character list. Toeing the Christian conservative line while still writing sympathetic Muslim characters, Rosenberg is a go-to novelist for Christian political fiction. (Oct.)